Some Kind of Normal – Juliana Stone – Sourcebooks Fire – Published 5 May 2015
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What is Normal?
For Trevor normal was fast guitar licks, catching game-winning passes and partying all night. Until a car accident leaves Trevor with no band, no teammates and no chance of graduating. It’s kinda hard to ace your finals when you’ve been in a coma. The last thing he needs is stuck-up Everly Jenkins as his new tutor—those beautiful blue eyes catching every last flaw.
For Everly normal was a perfect family around the dinner table, playing piano at Sunday service and sunning by the pool. Until she discovers her whole life is a lie. Now the perfect pastor’s daughter is hiding a life-changing secret, one that is slowly tearing her family apart. And spending the summer with notorious flirt Trevor Lewis means her darkest secret could be exposed.
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This book grabs you from the start. Trevor’s life was perfect. Music. Friends. Family. Football. A future. And then he made a stupid mistake that cost him his dreams. Now he struggles to see how his life is worth anything. Everly’s life is outwardly perfect. The perfect family. The perfect house. The perfect lie. This summer the pastor’s daughter and the school flirt are thrown together and sparks will fly.
At its heart this is a simple book. You’ve read the plot line before – two teens, each with a story, each having judged the other, one tutoring the other and the attraction that grows when they start to see past the surface. Yet it reads as original and fresh, highly enjoyable and engaging. I loved Trevor’s brutal honestly and his way with words, sometimes ridiculously (yet totally realistic) teen boy and other times unbelievably sweet and touching. He is strong and yet so vulnerable. Everly too is strong as she faces the reality of her breaking family. The romance that sparks between Everly and Trevor is steamy and sweet, with lots of build up. Told in alternating points of view, Trevor and Everly’s voices are each unique and realistic, and the writing style is totally addictive – I wanted more of this great story. Totally loveable.
The publishers provided a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Young Adult Fiction: ages 14 and up. Love and romance. Social issues